DeepSeek · 2026-10-17 · major
DeepSeek Search and Fetch API — web search for agents at $0.75 per 1,000 calls
DeepSeek opened its in-house search engine to developers as two API endpoints: Search returns ranked web results and Fetch turns one page into Markdown. Each costs $0.75 per 1,000 successful requests, with a 5 QPS limit.
DeepSeek now sells the web search behind its own chat app as a plain API for agents and RAG apps.
Quick facts
| Maker | DeepSeek |
|---|---|
| Endpoints | /v1/tools/search, /v1/tools/fetch |
| Price | $0.75 per 1,000 successful requests (each API) |
| Rate limit | 5 QPS per account, per API |
| Results per search | 1–50 (default 10) |
| Launched | October 17, 2026 |
Pricing
| Search | $0.75 / 1,000 successful requests |
|---|---|
| Fetch | $0.75 / 1,000 successful requests |
| Via DeepSeek Harness, Claude Code or Codex · server-side tool calls free until Nov 1, 2026 | $0 |
What is it?
The DeepSeek Search and Fetch API, opened on October 17, 2026, gives developers the same in-house search engine that powers DeepSeek's web and API search. Search takes a query and returns up to 50 ranked results with titles, snippets, longer model-oriented summaries and, on request, full page content. Fetch takes one URL and returns the page as Markdown.
How does it work?
Both are JSON endpoints under api.deepseek.com/v1/tools that use a normal DeepSeek API key. Queries accept operators such as site:, lang:, after: and before:, and every result carries a rerank_score from 0 to 3 and an authority tier from 0 to 4 so an agent can drop weak sources. DeepSeek's changelog says the engine indexes hundreds of billions of pages and filters SEO spam and low-quality AI-generated content.
Why does it matter?
Agents and RAG apps need fresh web data, and this gives DeepSeek users a search tool from the same vendor and on the same bill as the model. Billing counts only successful calls: empty results, failures and timeouts are free. Server-side tool calls made through DeepSeek Harness, Claude Code or Codex stay free until November 1, 2026.
Who is it for?
developers building agents and RAG apps
Frequently asked questions
- Which DeepSeek Search API calls are billed?
- DeepSeek bills its Search and Fetch API only for HTTP 200 responses that return a result. A search must return a non-empty results list and a fetch must return page content. Failed requests, empty results and timeouts are not billed, and the count parameter does not change the $0.75 per 1,000 price.
- Is DeepSeek web search free in Claude Code or Codex?
- DeepSeek says server-side Search and Fetch tool calls made through DeepSeek Harness, Claude Code or Codex are currently free. Per-request billing for those calls starts at 00:00 Beijing time on November 1, 2026. Direct calls to the Search and Fetch endpoints are billed at $0.75 per 1,000 successful requests.
- What are the rate limits of the DeepSeek Search and Fetch API?
- DeepSeek Search and Fetch each allow 5 requests per second per account, no matter how many API keys the account has. The two limits are separate from each other and from model concurrency limits. Fetch also has a per-domain limit, and any request over a limit gets HTTP 429 and should be retried after a wait.
- Can the DeepSeek Search API filter by site, language or date?
- Yes. DeepSeek Search queries accept site: and -site: to include or exclude domains, lang: with comma-separated language codes, after: and before: for publication dates, quoted exact phrases and minus terms. Each result also returns a publication date when known, a rerank_score from 0 to 3 and an authority tier from 0 to 4.
Try it
POST https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/search with {"query": "...", "count": 5}